Protective elements displaceable on a lifting sling



H. MEISEN Dec. 20, 1960 PROTECTIVE ELEMENTS DISPLACEABLE ON A LIFTING SLING Filed April 2, 1958 1111111 In I I I 1 1 v HUMMER United States Patent PROTECTIVE ELEMENTS DISPLACEABLE ON A LIFIIN G SLING Hans Meis en, Siemensstrasse 2, Goggingen, near Augsburg, Germany Filed Apr. 2, 195s, Ser. No. 725,924

Claims. Cl. 294-74 is not displaceable involuntarily on the rope sling, particularly on account of its own weight, but permits displacement thereof by hand on the sling. The latter is necessary for bringing the protective element to the correct position corresponding to the make-up of the load.

According to the invention, the protective element consists of a shaped block of elastic material comprising at least one hole for the passage of the rope, while there is also arranged inside the said hole or holes a clamping member engaging in one of the helical grooves which exist between the strands of the rope. It is advantageous to provide a clamping member of which the part engaging in the helical grooves forms a spherical cap.

The details of-the invention are more fully explained hereinafter by reference to the drawing, which shows constructional examples.-

In the drawing: t

Figure 1 shows a rope sling with protective elements according to the invention, when lifting a load;

Figure 2 is a cross-section through a protective element on the line 11-11 of Figure 1, on a natural scale;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of this protective element, partly as a section on the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an end view of a protective element for a rope sling consisting of only one rope;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section on the line VV of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a cross-section on the line VI-VI of Figure 5.

Figure 1 shows at 1 a rope sling consisting of two lengths of rope, the said sling serving to lift a load 2 comprising a case or the like. The eyes 2 of the sling are fitted in a ring 3 which can be engaged by a crane hook or the like.

Arranged on the sling 1 are a number of protective elements 4 so that the sling 1 and the load 2 cannot come into contact with one another. According to the invention, these protective elements 4 form a shaped block which consists of an elastic material such as rubber or rubber-like plastic. Formed in this shaped block is at least one hole for the passage of a length of rope, i.e. only one hole is provided for the sling according to Figures 4 and 5, which consists of only a single rope, whereas two holes are provided for the sling according to Figures 1 to 3, which consists of two ropes. According to the invention, each of these holes provided for the ropes has arranged therein a clamping member which "ice engages in one of the helical grooves which exist between the rope strands 1a, these grooves being shown at 5 in Figure 6. The clamping member is preferably so constructed that the part thereof which engages in the helical grooves 5 is formed as a. spherical cap, as can be seen in Figure 6 and also in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a metal ball 6 is preferably used as the clamping member. For mounting this metal or steel ball, a thin-walled metal sleeve 7 fitted into the shaped block 4 is provided in each of the preferred constructional forms illustrated, the inside diameter of this sleeve being slightly larger, for example only half a millimetre larger, than the rope diameter. Provided in this metal sleeve 7 is a transverse bore 8. The diameter of this transverse bore is such that the ball is supported on this bore in the arrangement according to Figure 3 and partially projects with the spherical portion 6:: inside the metal sleeve 7. Since the shaped block 4 consists of rubber, the metal ball 6 is pressed resiliently onto the bore 8. This ball engages with its portion 6:: into a helical groove 5 of the rope and thus holds the block on the rope so that the said block cannot be displaced by its own weight. However, a longitudinal displacement of the block 4 on the rope can easily be efiected manually, since the clamping member 6 in the form of a ball is resiliently mounted in the block.

As will be seen from Figure 3, the ends of the metal sleeve 7 are expanded at 9, and the metal sleeves are fixed onthe block by means of this expanded or flared portion. Furthermore, these flared portions 9 prevent damage to the rope or block 4 when the sling is bent at a sharp angle, as shown in Figure 1.

Instead of a metal ball, it is also possible to provide a cap-shaped rivet head 10 as the clamping member according to Figure 4 to 6, the said head 10 projecting inside the metal sleeve 7 and engaging in a helical rope groove 5. With this constructional form, the metal sleeve 7 also comprises a small transverse bore 11 in which is fixed the rivet 12 formed with thehead 10.

As will be seen from both Figure 2 and Figure 4, the block 4 or 4a is of substantially rectangular cross-section. When using a rope sling consisting of only a single rope, the block can perhaps be of a rounded or circular cross-section.

In order to avoid any damage to the: wire rope by the aforesaid clamping member, the said clamping member 6 or 10 is arranged outside the pressure plane in the blocks which are illustrated. This pressure plane is indicated in Figures 2 and 4 at aa. In the constructional form according to Figure 7, the clamping member 10 is in the plane V-V, which is inclined at an angle of 45 with respect to the plane a-a.

What I claim is:

l. A displaceable rope protector for lifting sings, or the like, comprising, in combination, a block of resilient material formed with at least one bore extending therethrough; a sleeve extending through said bore with the outer surface of said sleeve engaging said block and fixed thereto, said sleeve having an inner diameter substantia ly equal to the diameter of the rope to be protected and being formed with an aperture through the wall thereof; and a clamping element located in part in said aperture and having an inner portion projecting into the interior of said sleeve and an outer portion resiliently engaged by said block, whereby when a rope is located in said sleeve, said clamping element is resiliently pressed against said rope so that said protector is frictionally held in position and so that the position can be adjusted by moving said protector along said rope.

2. A displaceable rope protector for lifting s ings, or the like, comprising, in combination, a block of resilient ammo? material formed with at least one bore extending there through; a sleeve extending through said bore with the outer surface of said sleeve engaging said block and fixed thereto, said sleeve having an inner diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the rope to be protected and being formed with a substantially circular aperture of a given diameter through the Wall thereof; and a ball-shaped clamping element located in part in said aperture, said ball-shaped clamping element having a diameter slightly larger than said given diameter of said aperture andhaving an inner portion projecting into the interior of said sleeve and an outer portion resiliently engaged by said block, whereby when a rope islocated in said sleeve, said clamping element is resiliently pressed against said rope so that said protector is frictionally held in position and so that the position can be adjusted by moving said protector along said rope.

3. A displaceable rope protector for lifting slings, or the like, comprising, in combination, a block of resilient material formed with at least one bore extending therethrough, said block having at least one substantially plane abutment face adapted to abut against an object to be lifted end being substantially parallel to the axis of said bore; a sleeve extending through said bore with the outer surface of said sleeve engaging said block and fixed thereto, said sleeve having an inner diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the rope to be protected and being formed with an aperture through the wall thereof, the axis of said aperture extending in a plane including with the plane of said abutment face an angle considerably smaller than 90; and a clamping element located in part in said aperture and having an inner portion piojecting into the interior of said sleeve and an outer portion resiliently engaged by said block, whereby when a rope is located in said sleeve, said clamping element is resiliently pressed against said rope so that said protector is frictionally held in position and so that the position can be adjusted by moving said protector along said rope.

4. A displaceable rope protector for lifting slings, or the like, comprising, in combination, a block of resilient material formed with at least one bore extending therethrough; a sleeve extending through said bore with the outer surface of said sleeve engaging said block and fixed thereto, said sleeve having an inner diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the rope to be protected and being formed with an aperture through the wall thereof; and a clamping element in the form of a rivet riveted to said sleeve in said aperture and having an inner substantially spherical portion projecting into the interior of said sleeve and an outer portion resiliently engaged by said block, whereby when a rope is located in said sleeve, said clamping element is resiliently pressed against said rope so that said protector is frictionally held in position and so that the position can be adjusted by moving said protector along said rope.

5. A displaceable rope protector for lifting slings, or the like, comprising, in combination, a block of resilient material formed with at least one bore extending therethrough, said block having at least one substantially plane abutment face adapted to abut against an object to be lifted and being substantially parallel to the axis of said bore; a sleeve extending through said bore with the outer surface of said sleeve engaging said block and fixed thereto, said sleeve having an inner diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the rope to be protected and being formed with an aperture through the wall thereof, the axis of said aperture extending in a plane including with the plane of said abutment face an angle considerably smaller than and a clamping element in form of a rivet riveted to said sleeve in said aperture and having an inner substantially spherical portion projecting into the interior of said sleeve and an outer portion resiliently engaged by said block, whereby when arope is located in said sleeve, said clamping element is resiliently pressed against said rope so that said protector is frictionally held in position and so that the position can be adjusted by moving said protector along said rope.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 416,284 Adams, Dec. 3, 1889 1,699,114 Meagher Ian. 15, 1929 1,877,793 Beynon Sept. 20, 1932 2,289,378 Moran July 14, 1942 2,611,211 Stockton Sept. 23, 1952 2,793,904 Gale May 28, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 185,955 Austria June 25, 1956 46,651 Sweden Mar. 10, 1920 

